Contemplating the mystery of life after Trebek
“Jeopardy!,” such a staple of American television, the only quiz show besides frequent schedule companion, “Wheel of Fortune” to have a prominent time slot and dial spot in every market in the U.S., had a life before its phenomenally successful 1984 revival in syndication.
It was a daytime program devised by a game show host, Merv Griffin, who struck on the gimmick of giving answers and having contestants answer questions that must be put in the form of a question.
Griffin did not hire himself for the show. He tapped one of a slew of game host personalities honed by Goodson and Todman, the main providers of game show entertainment in television’s early and second stages.
That host was Art James, who was effectively retired by the time “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel” were paired and sent out to make television history via syndication by King World.
Alex Trebek had been the emcee on many Goodson-Todman programs. Though age 44 in 1984, he was a reliable, and relatively young, member of the producers’ stable.
From the beginning, Trebek took on the persona of a professor. Rather than just read “answers” or be as surprised as the contestants at some of the correct “questions,” he acted as he had knowledge encyclopedic enough to be giving the accurate responses from memory.
Sure, he had cards, and later electronic prompts, in front of him, but Trebek never veered from the impression he was a scholarly polymath versed in the various topics and information the “Jeopardy!” board would impart.
He played expert, and he did it well.
Trebek, in a recent Buzzr documentary about game shows and their hosts, said he always wanted to be an actor and have a significant role.
I would say he fulfilled his ambition by how convincingly and consistently he played the ultimate pundit on “Jeopardy!”
Acting may have been Trebek’s aspiration, but his talent derived from a different source.
He, like all of the Goodson-Todman hosts, some of whom like Griffin, John Daly, Hugh Downs, and Jan Murray, had Broadway, nightclub, or news credentials, were consummate broadcasters.
Watch vintage game shows on Buzzr or the Game Show Network, and you’ll see what I mean.
These hosts knew how to move a show. They could kibbitz with guests when appropriate and ad lib to suit a situation, but they were professional broadcasters, able to speak to a camera while watching time and the business at hand, while entertaining.
They put their shows and its business first. Yet Daly found time to be urbanely witty, Bob Barker to charm contestants and audiences, and Alex Trebek to convey his obvious intelligence as intellect.
Like Allen Ludden in his “College Bowl” days, Trebek persuaded us he was a guy in the know. Barker probably earns the mantle as the greatest game host ever, but Trebek is in the Top Five, if not the Top Two, and rates unending kudos for his 34-year stint on “Jeopardy!” (one year shorter than mine at the Daily Times, where in three weeks I’ll be writing my 35th anniversary television column).
I bring up Trebek’s skill as an actor, a broadcaster, and a program moderator to address a sad fact, albeit two years in the offing.
Trebek has announced he intends to leave “Jeopardy!” when he turns 80 in 2020.
Most game shows don’t last long enough to cope with the retirement of a host. The only quiz show in recent memory to rival “Jeopardy!” in popularity, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” blazed to glory with Regis Philbin as moderator but continued with milder success with Meredith Vieira, Cedric the Entertainer, and Chris Hardwick.
So Trebek and his “Wheel” counterpart, Pat Sajak, are unusual in their field.
The question, for which right now there is no answer, is whom will replace Trebek.
He has mentioned two candidates, attorney Laura Coates, who has TV experience as a legal analyst for CNN, and another Alex, Alex Faust, who will be brushing age 30 in 2020 and is the play-by-play announcer for the NHL’s L.A. Kings. (Trebek is Canadian. He would be up on his local hockey team.)
I don’t know if I agree with him.
Remember what I said about professional broadcasters. Coates and Faust both deal in specialties. The both have to speak extemporaneously, Faust more often that Coates, but I wonder if either has that combination of congenial gab and filling time while managing time Trebek, Sajak, and the several hosts I’ve mentioned do.
Faust might. Sports announcers often begin as general broadcasters. No doubt the Phillies’ Scott Franzke or his predecessor, the ubiquitous Scott Graham, can handle any job that would come their way.
That’s what I want for “Jeopardy!” when Trebek says goodbye, a professional in his league who learned his craft the way he did.
Coates and Faust are broadcasters by virtue they appear on television, and Faust is heard on radio.
But are they Bill Cullen or Jack Narz or Garry Moore, or any of the people who live in honored memory among game show fans, among which I number.
Alec Baldwin or Steve Harvey may be fine for shows that require personality. Craig Ferguson is aces at “The Celebrity Name Game,” quick and funny.
“Jeopardy!” requires a quizmaster, someone who can subdue personality and replace it with a persona, such as Trebek’s pretense to be an authority on all “Jeopardy!” subjects.
If only Merv Griffin or Mark Goodson was alive to make the choice.
I have a hard time trusting current producers. They may want to build a new “Jeopardy!” to satisfy a host rather than being strict about keeping “Jeopardy!” and its format sacrosanct and making the host bend to it.
Meredith Vieira was the best host of “Millionaire” because she had the best blend of curiosity, show management, and wonder at the answers.
Vieira might be a good choice for “Jeopardy!”
With game shows being so few, and newscasters rarely branching out as Vieira has, the farm team from which to draw a host is limited. The fertile training ground available to Trebek in his fledgling days is missing.
Of the people I’ve mentioned, Scott Graham would be my choice. Out of left field, I can see Sirius host Michael Smerconish doing it, or my WPHT (1210 AM) chatmate, Dom Giordano. Broadcasters!
Trebek chose Faust, and I maybe should listen to more Kings games to hear what he may hear. I’ll also start watching Coates more carefully.
“Jeopardy” is too valuable to play with. The choice of Trebek’s successor is a critical one and must be made with an eye to keeping the integrity of the show.
By the way, even though I knew Merv Griffin and had access to him, I once asked another game host and entrepreneur, Monty Hall, why he thinks the “Jeopardy!-Wheel of Fortune” combo is such a ratings-getter. He said the shows are perfectly poised to balance each other. “Jeopardy!,” Hall said, is geared to challenge the audience and make it feel less informed than the contestants or Trebek. “Wheel of Fortune,” he continued, does the opposite. The viewer gets the puzzle before the contestant and feels superior by yelling the answer and wondering why the contestant is buying vowels. ***** Cable and what I call “beautiful streaming” keep coming closer together.
Yes, many people go to streaming to avoid cable charges, but there is convenience to doing everything easily on a television rather than moving to iPhones or iPads or going through two minutes of maneuvers to call up Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu.
Comcast Xfinity recently established a partnership with Netflix and also gives access to YouTube via its X1 platform. It announced this week it will be embarking on a similar deal with Amazon Prime later this year. The exact date is unknown, but the time is near.
As with Netflix, X1 subscribers will be able to move from cable channels to streamers with vocal commands or quickly using the remote. The tie with Amazon Prime makes it easier for Xfinity subscribers to access popular shows such as “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” now shooting its second season, and a personal favorite, “Goliath.”
I often use Amazon Prime to catch up with shows on various networks. X1 subscribers can access HBO easily. I do not have cable in my home, and I find Amazon Prime invaluable for streaming important programs such as the summer’s hit, “Sharper Objects.”